Their vehicles may be "Ford Tough" but it's tough luck on owners who may unwittingly have had GPS data of their driving habits secretly tracked and stored by the giant carmaker, according to an executive's stunning admission at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, Business Insider reported Friday.

“We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you’re doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you’re doing.” Ford Vice-President Jim Farley told a Las Vegas crowd Wednesday. Farley, the global marketing and sales division chief, let this admission slip while speaking about how collection of personal data could be helpful in solving traffic and other driving problems.

“By the way, we don’t supply that data to anyone,” Farley added.

Realizing his gaffe, he said, "I absolutely left the wrong impression about how Ford operates. We do not track our customers in their cars without approval or consent."

Some 96 percent of Ford vehicles sold last year had variations of GPS systems on board.

Last month Ford unveiled a prototype car of the future, a self-driving vehicle equipped with a LIDAR, a light radar mapping system with onboard cameras.

Their vehicles may be "Ford Tough" but it's tough luck on owners who may unwittingly have had GPS data of their driving habits secretly tracked and stored by the giant carmaker, according to an executive's stunning admission at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.